When It All Comes Crashing Down

Title- When It All Comes Crashing Down

Passage- 2 Samuel 12:13-23

Attention-

Winston Churchill was once asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?”

“It’s quite flattering,” replied Winston, “But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.”

Introduction

There are moments in life that we tend to forget who we are

We tend to think a little more of ourselves than we ought to

It is in those moments that we become self reliant and forget God

So last week we saw the sin and repentance of David

We saw David get comfortable and turn to self reliance

We saw the steps he took to pursue sin

Then we saw that God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan

David responds verbally that it was against God that he sinned

This week we will see that David not only responds verbally but with his will and his actions

What is the main driving point (CPS)?

Friends, when God speaks our responsibility is to respond with our words, our wills, and our actions

Why does the CPS matter, what is the consequence?

How we respond tells us our true belief in who God is

If we trust Him

If we love Him

If we desire Him

Transition

Here in this passage we see several responses of David that show His repentance toward God

His first response is that he...

I. Pray passionately(16, 22)

Explain

This was not just a one and done prayer

This was something David invested much time into praying about

The prayers were for the child that was born to he and Bathsheba but David knew the consequences we because of his sin

He therefore goes to God on behalf of this child because of his sin and his desire for everything to be made right

The word here besought carries the idea of seeking, demanding, and requiring

Not that David was requiring or demanding of God

But it expresses the emotion and intensity that David prayed with

This wasn’t just “Dear God, help this child” and then David stopped and waited to see what would happen

A week…seven days David went without food while he passionately sought after the Lord

It also wasn’t just the length of the prayer

It was also the posture of the prayer

The wording indicates that David got down on his knees and laid out before the Lord

Bridge to today

I think that we live in a passionate culture

Passionate for sports

Causes

People

Hobbies

Relationships

I believe that there is one place that we can never be too passionate about

That we can never do too much

or too often

That is prayer

Especially when it comes to repentance and restoration after sin

But in all areas of our lives

Think of the prayers of Paul

Romans 1:8–10 KJV 1900

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

1 Corinthians 1:4 KJV 1900

I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

Ephesians 1:16 KJV 1900

Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Philippians 1:3–4 KJV 1900

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

Colossians 1:3 KJV 1900

We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 KJV 1900

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1 Thessalonians 1

2 Timothy 1:3 KJV 1900

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

This is a passionate prayer life

In essence, what is Paul telling these people

EVERY single TIME I think of you I pray for you

We wont get into the specifics of the content of the prayers but it was for spiritual growth and spiritual strength

Paul was concerned for them physically but more so for them spiritually

Relevance

Imagine if this was how the modern church prayed

If when we sinned we knelt before the Lord and pleaded with Him to cleanse, wash, and purge us?

What if EVERY time we thought of one another it prompted a prayer time for them

Why does this matter?

This is one of the patterns in Scripture that we see

To pray passionately over sin

To pray passionately for others

What if Wednesday night prayer meeting was more about prayer and less about fellowship

How different would the church look if when we split up for prayer if we spent more time praying than chit chatting

More time seeking the throne of grace than the approval of others

Prayer is to be a priority

In the aftermath of sin and in the battle against it

Transition

The second response is that he...

II. Submits fully(22-23)

Explain

This is an interesting couple verses

Here David is displaying his submission to God

He is saying…”While there was a chance that God could show His grace I sought it…now He has spoken and I accept His will”

While the child was alive there was hope within David that God would be merciful and gracious

But after the child dies his response to God is different

He displays this submission in a question...”Can I bring him back again?”

In other words, I have asked God…he said no…and I have no authority or power to change it.

David realizes He has one responsability

To submit to the will of the Lord

He even goes on to say…I can go to him (I can die and see him again)

But he shall not return to me (The Lord has spoken and I need to submit)

Bridge to today

Culturally it is interesting to me how David does NOT respond here

He does not go on praying after God has answered

How often do we ask God, trust that He is all wise and only desires our best

Yet we seek Him and he always answers

Yes, no, or not yet

But if we really desire something and He says no what do we do

We keep looking for “open doors” and praying

I believe that when we seek the Lord and He says no…then we ought to humble ourselves, submit to His authority, and accept the answer

Relevance

If we are going to keep on seeking what WE want even after the Lord answers then why even ask Him in the first place.

Why does this matter?

A large portion of prayer is submission

In coming to God you are acknowledging His authority, His power, His sovereignty

You also are conceding you authority, your power, your sovereignty, and your will

A large portion of prayer is admitting who God is and who you are not!

If you go to the Lord seeking and answer then we must seek with the intent to accept the answer.

Transition

The third response is that he puts a

III. Priority on worship (20)

Explain

What is the first thing that David does after fasting and praying for many days?

I know what I would do…I would be making myself a nice big sandwich…and getting some chips…and a drink...

He cleaned himself up and went to worship

THEN…Then he went back and ate and cared for his physical needs

FIRST he cared for his spiritual needs

SECOND he cared for his physical needs

Bridge to today

This is not saying that we always have to do the spiritual before the physical

It does display though that after David fasted and prayed his priority continued to be the spiritual

There are times that we can actually benefit spiritually from eating

But that is not the norm…it is the exception

We far too often put our personal physical needs before any spiritual needs

Relevance

We do notice that David prepares himself for worship

This was not a “Come as you are” worship

In spite of not eating for a week David cleans himself up, anointed himself (our cultural understanding would be cologne, aftershave, body lotion), and than he put on clothing appropriate for worship

Again, as much as we do not want to make too much of what Scripture does not say notice what he does not say...

I am so hungry, lets stop off at the nearest Denny’s so I can get some breakfast

He doesn’t say let me get another good nights rest and then I will worship

He doesn’t say that his self esteem is a bit too low today

David realizes that this is not about him

It is all about God

That he needs to respond to God in worship

That it is his duty to come before the Lord in worship

It is only after this that David David requested food

Why does this matter?

Today there is a tendency to prioritize anything and everything over public worship

And there are times in life that we miss a Sunday because of family, or illness, or other draws from this life

But it is NOT to be the norm

The norm is to be publically worshiping the Lord

Here in this passage we see it in that David prioritizes worship even over his physical desires

We cannot let our desires take precedence over the necessity of worship

We cannot let the things of this world take priority over the God of this world

Conclusion

Review of the Principles and the Sermon Proposition

So when we respond to God lets respond passionately, submissively, and worshipfully

Visualize Audience Implementation

Final Statement

Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me?

Closing Hymn

428 Nothing Between